FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS OF ST.

LOUIS AND PHILADELPHIA

ECONOMIC EDUCATION

A Chair for My Mother

By Vera B. Williams / ISBN: 0-688-04074-8

Lesson Author
Barbara Flowers, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Standards and Benchmarks (see page 10)

Lesson Description
In the story, A Chair for My Mother, a little girl and her family save money in a jar to
buy a chair after their furniture is destroyed in a fire. In this lesson, students will learn
that characters in the book are human resources who save part of the income they
earn. Students will identify other human resources and state how the mental and
physical work of those human resources allows them to earn income. Finally, students
name strategies to reach a savings goal.

Grade Level
1-3

Concepts
Human resources
Income
Saving
Savings goal

Objectives
Students will be able to

define human resources, income, saving, and savings goal;

provide examples of human resources,

determine a savings goal, and

state strategies for reaching a savings goal.

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

Time Required
30-45 minutes

Materials

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (ISBN: 0-688-04074-8)

Visual 1

Handout 1, one copy for each student

Handout 2, one copy for each pair or group of three students (Handout 2 may
be cut into strips before the lesson or cut into strips by students or, to avoid
cutting, the sentences may be placed in order by numbering them on the lines
provided.)

Handout 3, one copy for each student

Scissors (optional)

Procedure
1.

Explain that most people work. The work they do is both physical and mental. Physical
work requires people to move around a lot and use their muscles. They must think
about what theyre doing so they dont make any mistakes. Thinking is mental work.
Carpenters and plumbers do physical and mental work. Ask students to name other
workers who do physical and mental work. (Answers will vary but may include police
officers, mechanics, bricklayers, or farmers.)

2.

Explain that some workers do jobs that require sitting at a desk and thinking about
the work. Some of these workers are bankers and writers. Ask students to name other
workers who mostly do mental work. (Answers will vary but may include computer
programmers, lawyers, and doctors.)

3.

Explain that people who do mental and/or physical work are called human resources.
Human resources work hard to make and do things for us.

4.

Introduce A Chair for My Mother by saying that two characters in the story, the little
girl and her mother, are human resources.

5.

After reading the book, ask the following questions:

What work does the little girl do at the restaurant? (She peels onions, fills
ketchup bottles, and washes salt and pepper shakers.)

In what way is the work the girl does physical? (She is peeling and washing.)

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

In what way is the work the girl does mental? (If she is using a knife to peel
onions, she must concentrate so that she doesnt cut herself; she must be careful
not to overfill the salt and pepper shakers and ketchup bottles.)

What work does the mother do? (The mother is a waitress at the diner.)

In what way is the work the mother does physical? (She must walk to tables to
take orders, carry food to people, and remove dirty dishes from tables.)

In what way is the work the mother does mental? (She must write the orders,
answer customers questions, add the items on the bill, and make change.)

What do the little girl and her mother receive for their work? (Money)

6.

Explain that the money people earn for work is called income. People spend some of
their income to buy things they want. People can keep some of their income to buy
things in the future. This is called saving.

7.

Ask the following questions:

Why did the mother and the little girl save some of their income? (They wanted
to buy a chair.)

Why did they have to save? (They didnt have enough money to buy the chair
right now.)

8.

Explain that the girl and her mother had a savings goal. A savings goal is a good or
service that people want in the future. It can be hard to reach a savings goal because
there are so many things people might want to buy with the money they have saved.

9.

Ask the students for examples of things for which they have saved. (Answers will vary
but may include a toy, book, game, or bike.)

10. Display Visual 1: Savings Jar. Explain that one way people can concentrate on a savings
goal is to remind themselves of the item they wish to purchase with the money they
are saving. One way the girl and her mother could have reminded themselves of their
goal would have beeen to place a picture of the goal in the jar with their savings.
11. Distribute Handout 1: My Savings Jar and instruct students to draw their savings goal
on the note inside the jar. Call on individual students to discuss their goals. Suggest
that they cut out the note, take it home, and place it in a jar or on the bank in which
they save their money so that they will remember their goal. Ask students to suggest
other ways to help them reach their savings goals. (Answers will vary.) Comment on
their saving strategies and suggest the following:

Draw a picture of your savings goal on a sticky note and place it on your bathroom
mirror.

Ask your mom or dad to remind you of your goal whenever you receive money.

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

Keep your bank in a place where you will see it every day.

Never take money from your bank.

Save one-half of your gift money or allowance.

Save some money each week.

12. Ask students to state which strategy they will use to reach their savings goal. (Answers
will vary.)

Closure
13. Pair students or put them in groups of three. Distribute Handout 2: Anitas Savings
Goal. Students may place cut strips in the proper order, or they may number the order
of the sentences on the handout. The correct order of sentences is as follows:
Anita wanted to buy a new pair of sport shoes.
The shoes Anita wanted cost $15.00.
Anita raked leaves and earned income of $5.00 each week.
After Anitas first week of raking leaves, she put $3.00 in the jar.
After Anitas second week of raking leaves, she put $4.00 in the jar.
After Anitas third week of raking leaves, she put $3.00 in the jar.
Anita put all of her income from the fourth week in the jar.
Anita met her goal and bought shoes.
14. After students complete the activity, ask the following questions:

Who is the human resource in the story? (Anita)

What was Anitas work? (She raked leaves.)

What is income? (Income is money received for doing work.)

How much money did Anita earn each week in income? ($5.00)

What was Anitas savings goal? ($15.00 for shoes)

How much did Anita save toward her goal during the first week? ($3.00)

How many weeks did it take Anita to meet her goal? (4 weeks)

Do you think Anita was proud of her accomplishment? (Yes)

What steps or strategies do you think Anita used to reach her goal? (Answers
will vary but may include one of the strategies previously discussed.)

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

Assessment
15. Distribute a copy of Handout 3: Chris Meets His Goal to each student. Explain that
students will develop their own saving story about Chris by choosing (i) the work Chris
will have to do so that he receives some income, (ii) an item Chris wants, (iii) and the
price of that item, which will be Chriss savings goal. The students will also decide how
much money Chris will save each week to meet his goal. After students have completed
their work, discuss their answers as follows. (For younger students, it may be necessary
to provide a realistic wage for the work they choose. It may also be necessary to check
the accuracy of the prices of the items chosen as their savings goals.)

Who is the human resource in the story? (Chris)

What work did you choose for Chris? (Answers will vary.)

What is income? (Income is money received for doing work.)

How much money did Chris earn each week in income? (Answers will vary, but
should be reasonable compensation for the work chosen for Chris.)

What was Chriss savings goal? (Answers will vary, but students should indicate
an amount that would help Chris reach his goal.)

How much did Chris save toward his goal during the first week? (Answers will
vary.)

How many weeks did it take Chris to meet his goal? (Answers will vary.)

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

2009 Shutterstock/Miguel Angel Salinas Salinas

2008 iStockphoto/Nadia Rossi

Visual 1: Savings Jar

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

2009 Shutterstock/Miguel Angel Salinas Salinas

Handout 1: My Savings Jar

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

Handout 2: Anitas Savings Goal

These are sentences about a girl named Anita. She has a savings goal. Place the sentences in order to help her meet her goal.

After Anitas second week of raking leaves, she put $4.00 in the jar.

The shoes Anita wanted cost $15.00.

After Anitas first week of raking leaves, she put $3.00 in the jar.

Anita raked leaves and earned wages of $5.00 each week.

Anita wanted to buy a new pair of sport shoes.

After Anitas third week of raking leaves, she put $3.00 in the jar.

Anita met her goal and bought shoes.

Anita put all of her wages from the fourth week in the jar.

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

Handout 3: Chris Meets His Goal

Write your own story by filling in the blanks in the sentences below.
Chris works as a ____________________ and earns income of $_____________ each week.
Chris wants to buy _______________________________________________________.
The item Chris wants to buy costs $_____________.
After Chriss first week of work, he saves $_____________ in a shoebox.
After Chriss second week of work, he saves $_____________ in a shoebox.
After Chriss third week of work, he saves $_____________ in a shoebox.
After Chriss fourth week of work, he saves $_____________ in a shoebox.
Has Chris met his goal yet? If not, have him save some more until he does.
After Chriss fifth week of work, he saves $_____________ in a shoebox.
After Chriss sixth week of work, he saves $_____________ in a shoebox.
After Chriss seventh week of work, he saves $_____________ in a shoebox.
Chris met his goal and bought _____________________________________________.
Answer the following questions:
Who is the human resource in the story? __________________________________________
What was Chriss work?_________________________________________________________
What is income? _______________________________________________________________
How much money did Chris earn each week in income? _____________________________
What was Chriss savings goal?___________________________________________________
How much did Chris save toward his goal during the first week? ______________________
How many weeks did it take Chris to meet his goal?_________________________________

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

Standards and Benchmarks

National Content Standards in Economics
Standard 13: Income for most people is determined by the market value of the productive
resources they sell. What workers earn primarily depends on the market value of what they
produce.

Benchmark 2, Grade 4: People can earn income by exchanging the use of their
(physical or mental work) for wages or salaries.

National Standards in Personal Finance

Income and Careers Overall Competency: Use a career plan to develop personal income
potential.

Benchmark 1, Grade 4: People can acquire income in several ways, including

wages, salaries, and money gifts.

Saving and Investing Overall Competency: Implement a diversified investment strategy

that is compatible with personal goals.

Benchmark 1, Grade 4: People save for future financial goals.

Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts, Grades 1-3

Reading: Literature

Key Ideas and Details

RL.1.1, RL.2.1, RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding
of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RL.2.2, RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from
diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain
how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
RL.2.3, RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or
feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Craft and Structure

RL.2.5: Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the
beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RL.1.7, RL.2.7: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print
or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

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Lesson Plan

A Chair for My Mother

Writing

Text Types and Purposes

W.1.3, W.2.3: Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or
short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and
feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

Speaking and Listening

Comprehension and Collaboration

SL.1.2, SL.2.2, SL.3.2: Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text
read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including
visually, quantitatively, and orally.

2012, Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Philadelphia. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education_resources.

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